


Brave Little Coward

by ImmortalOddLover



Category: Kuroko no Basuke | Kuroko's Basketball
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-29
Updated: 2014-12-29
Packaged: 2018-03-04 04:52:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,416
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2953040
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ImmortalOddLover/pseuds/ImmortalOddLover
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This is a One-Shot I wrote for the AkaFuri Secret Santa on tumblr as a gift. <br/>The prompt was: furi being a cool bean and standing up to someone<br/>Enjoy reading :D</p>
            </blockquote>





	Brave Little Coward

**Author's Note:**

  * For [secrettemplars (tricycleamoving)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/tricycleamoving/gifts).



Akashi blinked as the words slightly spun in front of his eyes. The whiteness of the paper lying on the desk hurt his eyes and increased the dull headache he felt since this morning.   
“Question 15:” Akashi blinked. No, it was Question 19, wasn’t it? Or 14? Slowly massaging his temples he took a deep breath, then he looked at his exam again, trying to focus. But as soon as he finished reading the question it all slipped away. He could read it, but somehow the words lost their meaning before they could be processed by his brain. And it didn’t help at all that the letters didn’t want to stay at their place. Only that now it were not just the words, his whole desk was slightly spinning, and where the hell did the white fog come from? Confused he blinked again. His eyes hurt, his headache was now not only a dull throb but a strong pain he felt all around of his head.   
He wanted to sleep. If he could just close his eyes for a second. No, he had to focus! He was an Akashi, he would still pass this exam with flying colors. Maybe he was feeling a little ill but that never stopped him before and this would not be the first time. With a low sigh he tried to focus again and this time succeeded in reading and understanding question 15. It was easy. Or was it? Usually it would be easy, but as he felt the pain spread from his head to his neck, he wasn’t sure of the answer anymore. Why hadn’t he brought the pencil Midorima once purchased for them? Frowning he wrote the answer down.   
“There’s only ten minutes left.”   
The strict voice of his teacher cut the silence in the classroom. All around him Akashi heard nervous shuffling and the sound of rushed turned pages. Was that a joke? Ten minutes left? Had he really spent 50 minutes on 15 questions? He still had 8 to answer. Confused he tried to focus again.   
The red-eyed managed another 4 questions until he had to lay his pencil down.   
He never failed to finish an exam before. But instead of panic or grief, he felt nothing as he watched his teacher collecting their work. He only hoped the world would stop spinning soon, he found this rather troubling. Sighing he stared down at his now empty desk and tried to smooth out the headache by massaging his temples again.   
“Akashi-kun?” The concerned voice of his teacher somehow made it through to him. Slowly he raised his head.   
“Yes?” he managed to answer. Why was it so hard to speak? Was it always so hard to move his tongue?  
“Are you feeling alright?” The voice was closer than before.   
“Of course?” he replied, slowly looking up only to notice that everyone else had already left. Confused he started to pack his things. Was time different today?  
“Are you sure? Because you don’t look so well. Maybe you should visit the nurse’s office before you go home?” The nurse’s office? Why would he do that? And what did she mean with go home? He had training today. Confused he stood up and almost had to sit down again. Maybe he should cut out practice today and really should go to the school-nurse. His legs surely hadn’t felt that wobbly this morning. And the headache made him sick, his vision blurry.   
Could it be that he was ill? But what from? He politely nodded at his teacher and then left the room.   
It had never taken him that long to reach the health office of his school. To his embarrassment he had to make a break once on the way. Frowning he knocked at the door and was welcomed in immediately.  
Too much stress.   
It seemed that learning for three weeks straight, not having any breaks nor enough sleep and the weight on his shoulder of “being an Akashi” finally took its toll on him. Midorima now would surly tell him it had been only a matter of time. The green-haired teen actually did warn him twice to not overwork himself. But who would have guessed that he was right, after all?   
Sighing Akashi stared at his cell-phone. After his SMS to Reo, telling him he was sick and therefore would not come to practice, he received about a dozen “be well soon” wishes and questions on his health. He missed all of them on his ride home. There were also 5 missed calls. 2 from Reo and 3 from Kouki.   
The brunette must be worried, he promised he would call him between his last exam and practice. It was now half an hour after practice had started.  
Sighing he laid down on his bed and pressed the call button. After a few moment he could hear someone pick up.   
“Sei?” he could hear Kouki was worried.   
“Yes.” He answered.   
“Sei, I’m sorry if I interrupt you at something but you didn’t call and you usually text me if you can’t, so I was wondering if there was something wrong and… are you okay, Sei?” his boyfriend’s voice managed to decrease his headache a little. He had missed hearing that voice, seeing him in person. He took all that away from himself for learning. He had had to concentrate solely on that, thus the outcome would be perfect as expected of him. Somehow it didn’t work this time. Strangely Akashi felt some pressure in his throat. It was uncomfortable. It somewhat resembled the feeling he had had when they first lost to Seirin on the Winter Cup.   
“Sei, are you still there? Is everything okay?” Kouki’s voice sounded even more worried now. A small smile made it to the red-haired boy’s lips as he imagined Kouki’s furrowed eyebrows, which underlined his concerned look and how he slowly bit on his lower lip when he was worried about something.   
“I’m…” How should he say it? He was sick, was that accurate enough?  
“I guess I’m a little bit sick.” He could hear how his boyfriend quickly drew in a breath.   
“It’s getting better though, don’t worry.”  
“Is it a cold? I heard they are really nasty this season.”  
“No, Kouki. I’m… well, the school-nurse said I was overworked. I guess I haven’t slept very well the last days.”  
“Sei…” Why did Kouki sound sad and even more worried than before? “Please rest, Sei.”  
That was all he said. No lecturing about how he shouldn’t let it come so far. No preaches about how he should treat himself better. It made him smile.   
“Thank you, Kouki” he answered, noticing how his eyelids became heavier every moment. He was getting sleepy.   
“I guess I’ll rest now. Sorry I didn’t call you. I will make it up to you, don’t worry.”  
“No, don’t worry about that.” It was rare for his boyfriend to interrupt him.   
“Just rest and get well again, that’s more than enough, Sei.” There was a small break on the other side of the phone.   
“I love you, Sei.” His boyfriend then whispered. The smile wasn’t leaving his face.   
“I love you, too, Kouki.” He answered. “I’ll text you when I’m awake again.” He continued, waited until he got a positive answer and then he hung up.   
He didn’t even change his clothes before he slowly drifted into a deep recovering slumber. 

He got the results of that exam two weeks later. He never did so poorly on any exam before. The result was horrifying, for him at least. He hadn’t failed it, but he didn’t do well either. The moment he’d seen the points his body and mind went numb. He slowly blinked at the numbers, as if they would change when he did. Of course they did not. It was a foolish wish. He felt sweat building under his eyebrows as he frowned. Even when he was sick, he should have been able to do better than that. This result was a shame. His jaw tensed as he tried to think of anything else than this stupid test. How would his father react to this? He surely had to be disappointed in him. But actually, did that even matter? Did it even matter if he himself was disappointed of himself?   
The pressure from his father was one thing, but he knew some of that pressure came from himself. Somehow he had grown used to it, to win was natural for him, it was necessary. And he expected nothing less than the best of himself. Not because he was an Akashi, it was because he was Seijuro. He liked the feeling of pride when he accomplished something. The feeling when he reached his goal, the satisfaction. And now that he failed, he somehow felt empty. Yes, empty was the right word.   
Logically he knew it was not that bad. One exam did not ruin your life. It surely would not even have any effect on his mark in that subject. Logically he knew that he was indeed ill that day and that this result had to be expected. But still, he had somehow hoped that it was better. And he was very disappointed that it wasn’t.   
With a slightly gloomy face he packed his things and left the classroom. This was his last lesson for today. He still had training though. Well, maybe this was the right thing to do now. Playing some basketball would surely help him to cheer up a bit. Maybe it would release him of some of the stress. And after that he would go to the main station. A small smile made it to his lips, even if it lasted only seconds. Yes, he definitely would have to cheer up. After all, Kouki was visiting him for this weekend.

Listening to the music coming from his headphones he sat on his seat. Chocolate-brown eyes watched the scenery flying by through the window. He loved train-rides. Some people may find them boring or even stressful, but he really liked them. Wasn’t it great to just sit there, to watch the blurry outside world rush by listening to music? He truly felt at ease like this. He didn’t have to worry about being late or early, because even if he was, he couldn’t just jump out of the train, right? He couldn’t change it anyways. Besides he rarely got so much time to think. There was nothing that could interrupt his thoughts, besides perhaps the ticket collector, but that one did already check him this time. Now it was only him, the view out of the window, his music and his thoughts.  
In few time he would be able to see Akashi again. He felt a light giddiness take over his mood as he instantly had to grin stupidly at the thought. He had missed his lover very much these past weeks. Since the red-haired-teen was busy studying they hadn’t had much time to talk with each other, and then he had been sick and after that he himself had been busy studying for exams. But it was all done now and thus they could finally meet again. If he thought about it, maybe the prospect of seeing Seijuro was the thing that made him endure their situation for so long. After all they had set the date for their meeting more than 6 weeks ago. And even if it had seemed endless back then, before he knew it the weeks had flown by and he had to pack his things yesterday evening. They should plan their dates more often that early. It was a good way to motivate himself.   
Smiling he changed his position in the seat. Then he frowned, thinking of the last two weeks. To be honest he had been worried about his boyfriend was an understatement. He had been worried sick. First there had been this test, after that Seijuro hadn’t called him. He didn’t even send a text. Usually he would do that when he couldn’t make a promised call. But never before did he write nothing at all, thus Furihata had a bad feeling from the start. After he had waited for half an hour after the appointed time, he made a call. But his boyfriend didn’t answer his phone, which was pretty unusual too. In the next hour he had tried it two more times, without success. With the time passing by he had grown more and more concerned that something really bad had happened. When he had been just about to make a fourth call, his cell phone had rung. He sure had never been so relieved to hear his boyfriend’s voice. Still, he had known something was off. Seijuro’s voice had not been as firm as it always was. Instead it had been faint. Additionally Akashi hadn’t seemed to follow their conversation pretty well. Furihata had not been surprised when Akashi had announced that he was sick. The reason had not been unexpected either. He should have known that with the load of work his boyfriend had to do, it had been just a matter of time. His smile grew a little sad when he thought about their texts on the following days. Even though his boyfriend had recovered as quickly as possible, he knew he was anxious for the results. Knowing Seijuro he surely didn’t fail it even if he was sick, but if he could be happy with the outcome was a whole other world. He was a very perfectionistic person, perhaps the most perfectionistic person he knew. And Akashi always set his goals high. Additionally there was the pressure from his father. They had talked about it before. Furihata had mixed feelings thinking about that.   
First, of course he wanted to like his boyfriend’s father and of course he wanted to be liked back. Even if it was unrealistic, something inside of him hoped that they could get along well and that when they would tell him in a far distant future, he would accept them as a couple.   
Second, he felt intimidated. That man had to have a very powerful and frightening aura when he managed to control his son that much. Seijuro also said that he always had been very strict, even more when his mother had passed away.   
And last but not least, he sometimes felt angry at him. He was frustrated thinking of how much his father controlled his boyfriend’s life, sometimes even without him noticing it. Though it had become better after his loss at the Winter Cup one year ago, Seijuro still had more pressure loaded onto his shoulders than any teen should have. At least he could play basketball for fun again and not only for winning.   
A sigh escaped his lips. He shouldn’t worry about that right now. Instead he should concentrate on their meeting. Immediately he felt his lips curl up into a smile. Even if Seijuro would have failed the test. He couldn’t change that. But he could be there for him and try to make him forget his worries, even if it was just for one weekend. Soon he was filled with a joyful anticipation again and the time flew by just like the scenery on the outside. Before he knew it, the main station of Kyoto was the next stop and he had to collect his few things, only to stand up to get into the row waiting for the train to stop and the doors to be opened.   
Fresh air filled his lungs as he stepped out of the train, well, as fresh as the air in a main station could be, and he hurriedly took some steps aside thus the people behind him could leave the train too. He jumped a little in surprise when strong arms pulled him into an embrace, just as he had started to look around searching for the sight of red hair.   
“Welcome to Kyoto, Kouki.” The voice of his lover sounded right beside his ear. Furihata was sure that the huge grin on his face looked rather stupid, when he turned around in Seijuro’s arms to face his lover and put a chaste kiss on his lips. After all they were in public. Later he could kiss him properly.   
“I missed you, Sei.” He answered smiling at the slightly taller teen.   
“I missed you, too, Kouki. The train-ride was uneventful I assume?” He was really glad to directly listen to his boyfriend’s voice again.   
“Yes.” He answered, emphasizing it with a small nod. Meanwhile Seijuro let go of him and proceeded to lead them out of the main station.   
“How was school and basketball?” Did you get your result? He wanted to ask but bit his tongue before he could voice the question. He didn’t want Seijuro to remember that exam if it wasn’t necessary. But by the darkening of the look on his boyfriend’s face, he could tell that he indeed got the result.   
“Training was fun. It helped me to ease out some tension.” The reply came slowly and he could tell that Akashi hesitated to continue. Since they had reached the car by now, he instead opened the door for Furihata and then climbed in on the other side. He quietly told the driver that they wanted to go home.   
“I got the result today.” It was after a moment of silence that Akashi spoke. Furihata didn’t need to voice out the following question, he knew Seijuro would tell him.   
“I managed to get 68 points out of 100.” The brunette could see the disappointment in himself reflected in his red eyes. Without a word he reached out for his boyfriend’s hand and squeezed it lightly. Red eyes hesitatingly met his, and despite his now obvious bad mood, Furihata was granted with a small smile for his gesture.   
“I know it’s probably meaningless but I’m still disappointed. I hoped for more.” The other teen voiced out in a forced stable voice.   
“I know.” Furihata answered. Hesitatingly playing with the younger one’s fingers.   
There was nothing more to say on that matter because nothing could change it.   
“I will do my best to take your mind of it.” He thus suggested to his boyfriend, earning a smile again.   
“I’m sure you will.” The red-haired answered, squeezing his hand back. 

The rest of the car ride was filled with silence and soon some small talk, lightening up Seijuro’s mood.   
It was not until they entered the house that Furihata could feel the atmosphere change abruptly. Discreetly his boyfriend let go of his hand fast, stopping his movement.   
“Father.” Surprised the brunette looked forward to see a middle-aged man, with slightly greyed hair in front of them. He was formally dressed in a suit and looked strict. Furihata gulped. The mere presence of the man was intimidating and subconsciously he stepped a bit behind Seijuro.   
“Son.” The man acknowledged him, sparing Furihata a small glance.   
“I assume this is your friend, Furihata Kouki?” The brunette felt shivers run down his spine as Seijuro’s father took in his appearance, his view quickly shifting towards his son again. Was it him being a coward again or was that man really this frightening?  
“Yes.” Seijuro answered and Furihata was finally able to get out of his shocked state and quickly managed to greet the man with a small bow.   
“You might want him to go to your room.” The brunette could feel the change of posture of his boyfriend. His shoulders tensed up, his body stiffened.   
“It’s alright. He’s a close friend.” Usually he would have happily smiled to that statement, but the mood prevented him from that. Without sparing him any second glance Akashi’s father started talking.   
“I heard about your test results from your teacher.” Furihata could feel how Seijuro tensed up even more. Yet he didn’t answer.   
“I don’t even want to hear your excuse. You know there’s no excuse for failure. I gave you the simple task to bring in good results and that is what you do?” He knew that his father put a lot pressure on his son. But he had no idea how much it was until he heard those words. He didn’t even ask why he had failed it. He just presumed it was Seijuro’s fault all along. Despite the intimidating presence of the man, Furihata felt rage building inside of him. How could he treat Seijuro like that? If there was one thing he couldn’t stand at all it was behavior like this. Especially if it was directed at a person he loved.   
“It is clearly unacceptable. As an Akashi, it is your duty to always win and bring in the best. Yet you failed once again. If you think I can tolerate such behavior-“  
It was enough. He couldn’t listen any longer. And since Seijuro didn’t seem to even argue about it something inside of him just snapped.   
“That’s not true. I’m sorry, because I know it’s really rude to interrupt you like this, but you should definitely stop this right now. Se- … Akashi-kun didn’t do well because he was sick that day.”  
Furihata could hear a disapproving, disdainful grunt from the older man but continued nonetheless.   
“And he was sick because he wanted to do perfect and over-worked himself for the sake of that. Do you even know how long and much he learned for this?”  
“Kouki, it’s okay. You don’t have to tell him-“, the other teen’s soft voice tried to interrupt him. But the brunette was too agitated and angry to stop his speech now.   
“Then how dare you say that he should have done way better.  
Can’t you see that he’s already disappointed in himself? Do you really have to increase that feeling? Aren’t you his father? Has it ever occurred to you, that perhaps you shouldn’t pressure him that much when he already created that pressure himself? Don’t parents usually support their son to look forward again, forget this one stupid exam and do better next time?   
Seriously?  
Your son is one of the most intelligent, talented and successful people I have ever known. And yet you fail to acknowledge that. Instead you look at his faults he already feels bad about and rub them in his face again as if he didn’t care. Well, he does care about it. A lot actually. And seeing that he already blames himself enough, maybe you should put more effort in cheering him up again. A person is not defined by their faults, nor by their good traits. A person is all of that combined. You cannot only look at the faults of someone and then judge them on that, without even wondering about the good things they can do. That would be just plainly unfair. And it isn’t helping him in any way. I really thought someone of your status would know such basic things. But I guess I was wrong.”  
It was silent. Besides the Furihata’s still agitated breathing there was no sound in this room. You could have heard a pin falling down. The pressure in the room was deafening. Furihata did not dare to move. Quickly his angry face turned into a shocked one. He just had insulted Akashi’s father, perhaps one of the most powerful businessmen in Japan. He would definitely be thrown out of the house and never be allowed to meet his boyfriend again. If there ever was any hope for Akashi-senior to accept their relationship after they told him at one point, it was all gone now.   
He gulped as he felt the elder man looking at him. Slowly he dared to look up. Brown met a familiar piercing yellow. He must have moved in front of Seijuro during his speech because before his father could answer in any way his boyfriend stepped in front of him in a protective posture. The man now looked at his son and Furihata could sense a silent conversation going on between them.   
“You should teach your friends better manners.” With those words Akashi-senior turned around and walked down the hallway to enter one of the rooms.  
When he was gone Furihata slowly released a breath he didn’t even know he had been holding. He needed to apologize to his boyfriend. He didn’t want to mess with his father. Seijuro surely must be angry at him.   
“Sei, I’m-“   
His apology was cut off when his boyfriend determined took his hand and started to drag him along towards his room without even looking at him. He didn’t even care that Furihata’s bag still was in the car. So he really was angry. The brunette could feel fear building up inside of him. He didn’t want to make his boyfriend angry with him. He hated to mess up.   
Quickly Seijuro threw open the door and pushed him inside, shutting it carefully without a sound. When Seijuro finally turned around Furihata was prepared for everything but a whole-hearted passionate kiss. Thus it caught him completely of guard to be pulled into a fierce embrace while Seijuro continued to kiss him. His boyfriend wasn’t angry with him then? It took him a moment before he finally collected himself and returned the kiss with just as much fervor. He didn’t fully realize how much he missed this until that very moment. Despaired he pulled the red-haired teen closer, taking in his sent, the feeling of his body against his own, the warmth created by their embrace and the feeling of their now moist lips joining again and again.   
Seijuro was the one who finally ended it, leaning his forehead against his. Their breathing was rapid.   
“Thank you.”   
The brunette was taken completely by surprise once again.   
“No one despite my mother dared to talk back to my father like that. Especially not for my sake. That was really, really brave of you. Perhaps a bit reckless, but brave. Thank you Kouki, really.” He could feel a large bubble of relief and happiness build up in his stomach as he proceeded those words.   
“I’m” He was at a complete loss for words. He felt heat rising up in his cheeks, indicating that he was blushing.   
“I love you.” He then blurted out, not able to think of any other response that could describe his feelings. He was rewarded with a chuckle and another, now more romantic kiss.   
“I love you too, Kouki. My truly brave little coward.”

**Author's Note:**

> I hoped you enjoyed it. Please tell me if you noticed any language mistakes. English is not my mother tongue and I take every chance to improve it.   
> The Credit for Akashi's eye color goes to Yurika, because I liked her idea. (it was of course used with permission)


End file.
